A network security appliance may perform a penetration testing and vulnerability assessment function on a hard-wired network. The hard-wired network may require each node on the network to be physically connected to each other. For example, each computing device sharing the hard-wired network may require cables (e.g., Ethernet cables) to connect to each other. These cables may be cumbersome and difficult to route through buildings (e.g., buildings may be geographically dispersed, routing through walls may be unsightly and/or challenging).
Therefore, wireless nodes may be added to the hard-wired network. However, a heterogeneous topology (e.g., with wired and wireless nodes) and/or a pure wireless topology of a network may be incompatible with the network security appliance performing the penetration testing and vulnerability assessment function. The network security appliance may be slow, inefficient, and unable to respond to dynamic conditions within the network and may have difficulty managing the numerous devices associated with the network that are connected wirelessly. Therefore devices that are connected to the network wirelessly may be susceptible to intrusion from external parties. These intrusions may cost companies and organizations running a heterogeneous and/or wireless network money, time, and/or critical sensitive information. Therefore, security of the network may be compromised.